Chemical recycling of flexible PVC by oxygen oxidation in NaOH solutions at elevated temperatures

Abstract

Oxidative degradation of a flexible PVC pellet (F-PVC) with oxygen was carried out in 1–25-mol/kg(m)-H2O NaOH solutions, at 150–260°C and 1–10 MPa. Dehydrochlorination of F-PVC occurred first, followed by oxidation. The major products were oxalic acid, a mixture of benzenecarboxylic acids, and CO2. We obtained 320 g of oxalic acid and 130 g of benzenecarboxylic acids (as phthalic acid) from 1 kg of F-PVC under conditions of a 15-m NaOH solution at 250°C and a of 5 MPa for 5 h. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 70: 129–135, 1998